Rifle stocks are typically cut from a solid blank of wood having growth rings. These rifle stocks warp in a direction normal to the growth rings when exposed to moisture. Prior art laminated stocks are made from blanks cut lengthwise into multiple layers and then glued together. While laminated stocks offer increased strength over solid stocks, the laminated stocks also experience warpage.
Other prior art laminated stocks include at least one pair of layers with one layer of the pair rotated along a vertical axis thereof or lengthwise (end-to-end) with respect to the other layer. Some warpage of the rotated layer cancels the warpage of the non-rotated layer where the growth rings on the rotated and non-rotated layers mirror each other. However, since the growth rings at a cross section of one end of these laminated blanks are typically different than the growth rings at a cross section of an opposite end of the blank, any cancellation is coincidental.
Warpage occurs as the moisture content in the wood stock varies. A barrel channel of the warping stock puts pressure on the barrel of the rifle and deflects bullets as they pass through the barrel.
Warpage is not noticeable by most hunters due to short shooting distances and large targets. However, the effects of the warpage increases proportionally as the shooting distance increases. In competitive target shooting, the shooting distance is long enough that the effects of warpage are significant.
Sights attached to the rifle are adjusted for accuracy. As warpage varies with the moisture content of the stock, the sight becomes misaligned causing inaccurate shooting. Consequently, the sight must be continually adjusted.